TVSquad

(S06E07) So many judges, so little time. Tyce DiOrio, Mia Michaels, Debbie Allen, Adam Shankman, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe all sat in judgment of the 152 dancers who survived the audition rounds. The pace of the show picks up dramatically when we get to Vegas, and somehow I had myself convinced they were going to cram the entire week into tonight's one-hour episode.

Thankfully, I'm an idiot. Vegas Week continues next week for you and me. In fact, we only got through the first two days. But in that time, we lost nearly half of the contestants including several early favorites, and certainly some favorites of mine.

The more I see of these dancers, though, the more excited I am for this season. I thought last season suffered from the blands through a lot of it, despite some amazing choreographed performances, but there are a lot of really dynamic personalities already shining through.

The ratings are slowly creeping up on So You Think You Can Dance. I suspect it should continue to rise as we get into the voting rounds. From there all they need is a breakout dance like so many of the ones we've seen over the year, most recently the breast cancer performance, and this thing could go viral and become the hit it deserves to be.

Things were moving fast, so we're going to bullet-point our way through. Ready?


Day 1 (152 Dancers - Solo Performances)

• 17-year old Nathan Trasoras got his ticket to Season 6 Vegas back in season 5 when it turned out he was too young to compete then. He wowed me again with a beautiful contemporary routine.
• Ellenore Sott put an element of staccato fun in her routine, working very well with her music.
• Jacob Jason and Willem De Vries brought the same-sex ballroom back, but only Willem made it to the next round.

Day 1 (111 Dancers - Hip-Hop w/ Tabitha & Napoleon)

• Teddy Tedholm, who gave a very quirky plaid-clad contemporary performance, survived, but hip-hop proved to be overwhelming for many of the dancers.
• Ryan Kasprczak lost a spot in the Top 20 last season to his brother, Evan, but came back strong. However, in hip-hop he barely sneaked through.

Day 2 (90 Dancers - Cha-Cha w/ Louis van Amstel)

• The routine brought back Anya and was ridiculously fast and intricate. SYTYCD is pulling no punches this season.
• Crumper Russell Ferguson was comfortable, but he had a great partner in Iveta Lukosiute so that might have helped. When he finally danced, you saw that he was confident because he did an amazing job considering his background.
• Contemporary performer Billy Bell took an elbow to the face and missed most of the rehearsal, but pulled it off enough to make it through.
• Was Ryan able to step up his game today to make it through Day 2? After a calming talk with Evan the night before, he showed confidence on stage, but was a little too fierce and went home earlier this year than he did last year.
• Legacy realized that learning someone else's choreography went against his b-boy instincts, and his lack of confidence erased his personality from the cha-cha. He was offered a chance to fight for his life.
• Teddy Tedholm didn't make it, nor did the ambassador of New Orleans bounce, Shelby "Skip" Skipper.

Day 2 (Fight For Your Life)

• John Liltzler knows how to showcase his strength in a solo, though I found myself waiting to see something different than the first time we saw him in New Orleans. There was no sense of hunger for the competition in what he gave us.
• Legacy was an emotional wreck, but when it came time to dance he put on the best game face he could and slid all around the stage on his head. Nigel gave it to him straight. "I need you to be able to dance on your feet, too." But, Legacy made it through to the next round.

Final Tally (77 Dancers)

Next week, the bloodshed continues and your Top 20 stands revealed.